Apparatus for producing oil wells which make water



Feb. 8, 1944. r s. E. BUCKLEY 2,341,359

APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING OIL WELL S WHICH MAKE WATER Filed Aug. 26, 1959 Jim/1i (5: 31.42% INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

Patented Feb. 8, 1944 APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING on; WELLS wnrcn MAKE WATER Stuart E. Buckley, Houston, Tex., assignor to Standard Oil Development Company, a corporation of Delaware Application August 26, 1939, Serial No. 292,013

2 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in removing water from oil wells or from oil and gas wells and to apparatus used for carrying out this procedure.

In producing oil or a mixtur of oil and gas from a well, water frequently enters the well along with the oil or mixture of oil and gas. The production of water is undesirable in that there is a cost in raising it to the surface, and after it is raised ther is a disposal problem. Efforts have therefore been made to plug off water sands in the production of water from oil wells, but these efforts have not been generally satisfactory.

A still more troublesome factor in the production of water with the oil is that after the mixture passes through the choke at the surface of the earth, it becomes emulsified and the problem of breaking the emulsion is a dimcult one. It is therefore an object of the present invention to produce oil and water separately from a well which makes both oil and water and so avoid the troublesome problem of breaking emulsions.

It is another object of the present invention to separate a mixture of oil and water produced by the well into an oil and a water component, while still in the bore hole and under substantially the pressure and temperature conditions existing in the production zone of the bore hole.

Still another object of the present invention is to separate a mixture of oil, gas and water produced by a well into its water, oil and gaseous components, while still within the bore hole, and producing them as separate fractions from the well.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the specification and from the accompanying drawing in which latter the sole figure is a diagrammatic representation of a preferred apparatus for separating water, oil and gas in the bore hole of a well.

Referring particularly to the figure, numeral l designates a bore of a well which penetrates producing zone 2 which produces a mixture of oil, gas and water. Into the bore hole I extends casing 3 and inside of casing 3 is a string of tubing 4 which extends below th lower end of the casing. The annular space between the lower end of the casing and tubing 4 is closed by packer 5. Inside of the first string of tubing 4 is a second string of tubing 6 which is connected to the annular space between casing 3 and tubing 4 at point 1. A second packing 8 seals the annular space between the strings of tubing 4 and 6, said packing being located above perforation 9 in the wall of tubing 4. In the annular space between casing 3 and tubing 4 is inserted a short length of tubing l3, the lower end of which is packed off by means of packer I4 so that the opening between the lower end of tubing l3 and casing 3 is closed.

In carrying out the procedure of the present invention the mixture of oil and water from formation 2 enters the lower end of tubing 4 and rises upwardly therethrough to the height of perforations 9. At this point the packer 8 stops the upward fiow of liquid and forces it through perforations 9 into the annular space between tubing 4 and casing 3. As the fiuid passes into this space, its velocity is diminished and its direction of flow altered, and this causes the water, oil and gas mixture to separate into a water component which settles downwardly and an oil and gas component which rises upwardly.

When the water level in the annular space between casing 3 and tubing 4 rises to the position ll shown in the drawing, water is forced up through tubing 6 and out of the well at the surface of the earth.

The mixture of oil and gas which accumulates between casing 3 and tubing 4 is allowed to fiow upwardly through the space between tubings 4 and I3 until it comes to the top of tubing l3.

At this point'the velocity of the mixture is diminished and oil drops downwardly, filling the lower end of the annular space between tubing l3 and casing 3 and passes through opening l5 into the annular space between tubings 4 and 6 and rises to the surface, the upper end of this space being controlled by valve 16 and regulator II. The gas rises upwardly in the space between casing 3 and tubing 4 and is produced through orifice l8 controlled by valve IS. The production of the oil and gas must be regulated because if too large an amount of fluid flows through opening l5, there will be no liquid seal at this point and a mixture of oil and gas will be produced through valve l6.

It is evident that various changes may be made in the present invention in the arrangement of the tubings and in the position of the connections between the various fiow strings arranged within the bore hole, Such changes are within the scope of the invention and it is my intention to claim the invention as broadly as the prior art permits.

I claim:

1. An apparatus for producing a well making both oil and gas comprising in combination a casing a first string of tubing arranged within said casing and extending at least as far as the bottom of said casing, a first packer arranged at the bottomof said casing to close the annular space between said casing and said first string of tubing, a second string of tubing arranged within said first string of tubing with its bottom in fiuid connection with the annular space between said casing; and first string of tubing above said first packer, a second packer arranged between said .first and second strings of tubing at a substantial distance above the lower end of said second string of tubing, perforations in the wall of said first string of tubing below said second packer, a third string of tubing arranged between said casing and said first string of tubing, the lower end of said third string of tubing being above said second packer, a third packer arranged betwen the lower end of said third string of tubing and said casing to close the anstrings oi tubing.

2. An apparatus as in the preceding claim in which the upper end of the annular space between the first and second strings of tubing is provided with a closure controlled by a valve fitted with a device which opens and closes the p valve only between a certain predetermined range of pressures and in which the upper end of the annular space between the casing and'the first string of tubing is provided with a closure controlled by avalve.

STUART E. BUCKLEY. 

